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Enterprises are abandoning pilots for full-scale AI deployments, collapsing legacy software models and forcing regulators to intervene. As AI shifts from answering prompts to running workflows, rapid adoption is outpacing governance. This severe financial liability is now the absolute barrier to the agentic leap.
"The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource."
— Daniel J. Boorstin, Historian
In today's lineup:
Robots
A playbook for AI trust
Real ROI from Gen AI
Standalone AI agents vs turnkey support platforms
People
Laura Crabtree builds an OS for space
Love
Closing the human adoption gap
The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley
Reading time: 3 min.
ROBOTS 🤖
How are robotics and AI changing industries? We break down the latest news, tools, and innovations for you.
Top Insights
Internal duplicate systems eat Amazon's AI ROI
European AI chips secure nine-figure backing
Labor Department steps in to fix the AI skills gap
AI slop scandals shift focus from real governance issues
Anti-AI movement targets executive leadership
Expert AI optimism masks growing workforce anxiety
Stanford University’s 2026 AI Index exposes a massive divide between tech insiders and everyday workers. While 73% of AI experts expect the technology to positively impact jobs, 64% of Americans are actively bracing for job losses. With only 31% of the public trusting the government to regulate AI responsibly, the burden falls entirely on employers to manage the friction between executive enthusiasm and employee resistance.
A playbook for AI trust
Address workforce anxieties directly instead of relying on vague promises of efficiency
Redesign entry-level roles around AI assistance rather than strictly replacing junior staff
Federate domain-specific teams to track how new tools affect daily workloads and pay
Leverage phased approaches by targeting high-friction administrative tasks first to prove value
How is your leadership team addressing the growing gap between executive AI optimism and workforce anxiety?
Real ROI from Gen AI
How human-centric AI delivers business results
Schneider Electric embedded Microsoft Azure OpenAI into its industrial automation tools to generate PLC code, cutting development time for engineers by up to 50%.
Relay Therapeutics used generative AI to develop a new PI3Kɑ inhibitor for breast cancer, shrinking tumors in 81% of patients during clinical trials.
Lloyds Banking Group scaled agentic AI systems across its customer and internal operations, delivering $63 million in efficiency gains last year and projecting over $127 million in value for 2026.
Tool Spotlight
Standalone AI agents vs turnkey support platforms
Recently reached a $4.5 billion valuation after securing major enterprise deployments with brands like SiriusXM and WeightWatchers.
Best for: Operations and tech leaders needing a highly customizable, multi-model AI agent built to handle complex, brand-specific workflows.
Choose if you:
Need to orchestrate multi-step transactions directly within your proprietary backend systems.
Require absolute control over how the AI reflects your brand's unique tone and personality.
Prefer a specialized conversational platform over a traditional, all-in-one help desk suite.
Best for: Customer support leaders who want an AI agent that integrates instantly into their existing help desk and
Choose if you:
Want a turnkey AI agent that deploys in minutes by reading your existing support articles.
Need a seamless, context-rich handoff between the AI and your human support team within one shared inbox.
Prioritize rapid, automated resolution of routine queries over building heavily customized, code-intensive conversational flows.
3 other tools to explore
Ada, Zendesk AI, and Kustomer are strong alternatives for teams looking to automate customer interactions, streamline frontline support workflows, and efficiently scale service operations without requiring heavy engineering overhead.
PEOPLE 👥
Meet the innovators turning bold ideas into real-world impact.
Transformation Champion
Laura Crabtree builds an OS for space
Space missions frequently rely on fragmented, outdated software. Epsilon3 CEO Laura Crabtree experienced this friction firsthand at SpaceX. She built an operating system that replaces paper manuals with AI-enhanced, real-time digital procedures. Recently named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders list, her platform standardizes how flight controllers and engineers manage high-stakes launches. Crabtree is turning siloed data into clear operational logic, proving that successful spaceflight requires secure, centralized software. Read more
LOVE ❤️
Practical wisdom, growth tactics, and a must-read book that will challenge the way you think.
Closing the human adoption gap
Technology evolves in weeks, but human behavior takes decades. Teams clinging to legacy workflows act as the primary bottleneck to scaling new systems. Employees will actively fight transitions that threaten their daily output or carry unmanaged personal risk.
Require executives to actively champion the shift and personally participate in the disruption rather than just delegating it.
Reward experimentation and validated learning even when a specific initiative fails to scale.
Integrate intelligence tools directly into existing communication channels so the barrier to entry is zero.
Learn how to manage this transition in my book, 100x.
👉🏽 Reply to this email with "100x" for a free copy.
Transformative Reads
One book, handpicked from my conversations with friends, industry leaders, and tech innovators:
The Evolution of Everything by Matt Ridley challenges the "Great Man" theory of innovation. Ridley argues that change is evolutionary and bottom-up, not top-down and designed. For leaders, the lesson is humble but powerful: stop trying to command the market. Build a system that can adapt to the inevitable mutations of customer demand.
Perfect for: Strategists moving from rigid planning to adaptive systems.
In Culture
Productivity is up, and so is your future migraine…
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Much Love,
Matt and the Future Works team
